Sarah Palin topped off the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference with a speech that, while light on substance, roused participants, slammed the Obama administration and called for conservatives, Republicans and Tea Partiers to work together.

The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee energized the audience and received multiple standing ovations. When several protesters got into the room and began to shout over Palin, the audience quickly began chanting “USA! USA!”

The speech was filled with colorful images, metaphors, alliteration and rhymes. But some in the audience felt the substance was thin and some of the statements were inaccurate.

Scott Carcetti, an attendee at the event who works for a radio show in Rhode Island, said many of Palin’s talking points “sound cute.” But when Palin began to speak about the “cesspool of corruption” of Washington politics and alluded to President Obama being ashamed of America, Carcetti didn’t buy it.

“Some of the stuff she said was a little out of touch with reality,” he said.

At another point in the speech, Palin compared America to a sinking ship and targeted “Candidate” Obama’s background as a community organizer.

“When a ship is going down, the last thing you need is a community organizer reorganizing the deck chairs while singing ‘Let’s Stay Together,’“ she said.

Palin did briefly touch on issues such as the recent debate over whether religious employers will be required to provide contraception and the Keystone pipeline, but most of the references did not directly mention the issues.

Also slightly vague was Palin’s choice of candidate — she stressed the importance of backing a conservative candidate with a conservative background.

“Our candidate must be someone who can instinctively turn right to constitutional, conservative principles,” she said. “It’s too late in the game to teach it or spin it at this point, it’s either there or it isn’t.”

This is Plain’s first time speaking at the conference — not that the invitation hasn’t been extended before. The former Alaska governor was invited to give the keynote speech in 2008 and 2009, but canceled each time a few weeks before the event.

Palin ended the speech by placing a vote of confidence in the continuing competition for the Republican nominee, and urging the conservative movement to stand together “for the sake of our country.”

Bobby Coffey, another attendee, said while he didn’t believe her call for more unity would stop the negative ads, he was glad to hear her say it regardless.

“She has a way of communicating issues to the conservative base that motivates,” Coffey said.